Early Pregnancy: It's Okay to Skip and Sleep On Your Side

There are a lot of things that people don't remember about being pregnant, or they don't think to tell you... I figured I want tons of kids and I'll have friends who have kids later, so I want to remember as much as I can about this, my first pregnancy!

One thing that I just didn't quite grasp is that (for most people, myself included) the nausea in the first trimester WILL go away! I have always had the mentality that I can do anything, nothing is too hard, and I cannot fail in my responsibilities. On days when I was feeling SOOOOO awful, I refused to call in sick or miss church or skip activites because I kept thinking, "Am I just going to become a shut-in for nine months? Pregnancy is hard so I'd better get used to it." But if I could go back I would tell myself that it gets better. It's okay to stay home, take a sick day, go back to bed. The whole nine months won't be that way, and you've probably never felt this awful. Nobody will be disappointed, nobody will think less of you.

IT'S OKAY TO SKIP.

I also kind of feel like a failure because I'm two days away from being HALFWAY, so this blog is a little late. But better 20 weeks in than after the baby comes! :P

Something a wise friend told me is to buy stool softener. I don't care if it's gross or awkward, that is something everyone should share! Not only is your body pumping with new horomones, which may block you up, but those REALLY YUMMY (not actually yummy) prenatal vitamins are full of iron, which I guess also blocks you up! That was something she wished someone had shared with her (she learned the hard way), and I was oh so grateful for her knowledge and wisdom.

Oh, and I was kind of freaked out between the first couple of doctor's appointments. When I thought of pregnancy before, I just thought on constant doctor's visits, but that comes later; in the beginning of the pregnancy, there's not really much they can or need to do (unless you have some kind of high risk or something they want to keep an eye on). So when you have 4-6 weeks between your first and second doctor's appointment, don't panic! Just take your prenatals every day and stay hydrated.
Oh, and START SLEEPING ON YOUR SIDE NOW! I was so so so so tired all the time in the first trimester, so I could sleep in any position. A couple months down the road and now it's getting uncomfortable. I'm not really a side sleeper... I used to be, but my arms always fell asleep so I trained myself to be a back sleeper. Well, there's some sort of important vein or something that your uterus smashes if you sleep on your back when there's a human growing in there. (It doesn't actually smash it, it just makes circulation more difficult, and then you may find yourself getting dizzy more often.) I already have really low blood pressure and I get headaches and dizzy spells all the time, so when my husband read about this I knew it was important for me to sleep on my side. So anywho, use all that tired from your first trimester to sleep as much as you can on your side. Train yourself early so that when you are in those sleep deprived stages, your position isn't as much of a problem. And you know what, buy one of those pregnancy pillows (or a body pillow). I think I really need one, but we live in an inconvenient place, plus funds are tight so we've got to schedule it around when we have time to go looking for a good one and paying rent haha. So schedule that early so you have it by the time you need it!

I can't think of anything else for now, but I will sure keep you posted. :)